A cancer patient in intensive care as a result of surgery is less likely to die than a non-surgical cancer patient, a landmark review has found.
Analysis of more than 1.6 million admissions to Australian and New Zealand intensive care units (ICUs) shows there were nearly 214,000 admissions between 2000 and 2016 due to cancer.
Lead investigator and intensive care specialist Dr Eamon Raith at Royal Adelaide Hospital, who will present the review's initial findings at a conference of anaesthetists in Sydney on Friday, says nearly 80 per cent of these patients were admitted to ICU following surgery related to their cancer.
Gastrointestinal, brain and respiratory tract cancers - including lung cancer - accounted for the most admissions.
"Most significantly it was found it was the 20 per cent of non-surgical cancer patients admitted to ICU who were more likely to die," Dr Raith told AAP.
Researchers examined 1.6 million admissions recorded by the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Centre for Outcome and Resource Evaluation.
The number of admissions for patients with cancer increased from 3894 in 2000 to 21,541 in 2016.
Despite the increased number of admissions to ICU, the mortality rate for all patients admitted to ICU with cancer fell, from 17.7 per cent in 2000 to 8.43 per cent in 2016.
"These patients have been admitted to ICU because of their cancer. For example, it might be someone who has had an operation to remove a tumour and who needs ICU support or someone with blood cancer who is admitted to the ICU because they have very low platelet levels," Dr Raith said.
He says they now have a much clearer picture of what happens to critically ill cancer patients who come to the ICU, which will ultimately improve treatment and outcomes.
"This data helps determine which patients are at increased risk of dying if they come to ICU or when they're in hospital and that will help guide conversations with patients potentially towards improving end-of-life care, potentially towards using aggressive treatment strategies," Dr Raith said.
